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REACTION OF EXCITED CHLOROPHYLL MOLECULES AT ELECTRODES AND IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS *
Author(s) -
TRIBUTSCH HELMUT
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
photochemistry and photobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1751-1097
pISSN - 0031-8655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1972.tb06297.x
Subject(s) - chlorella pyrenoidosa , electrochemistry , photosynthesis , excited state , photochemistry , chemistry , molecule , kinetics , electrode , electrochemical energy conversion , electrochemical cell , membrane , materials science , chlorella , organic chemistry , algae , atomic physics , botany , physics , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , biology
— Excited molecules can exchange electrons with suitable electrodes in an electrochemical cell. Excitation energy of molecules can therefore be converted into electrochemical energy. Electrochemical reactions of excited chlorophyll molecules have been investigated with the help of semiconductor electrodes. It is suggested that this type of reaction also occurs during the primary steps of photosynthesis. Consequently, concepts of electrochemical kinetics would have to be applied in order to elucidate chlorophyll‐sensitized reactions in photosynthetic membranes. In order to provide evidence for this conclusion, electrochemical kinetics is applied to the calculation of decay of delayed light from photosynthetic membranes, and the result is compared with experimental data from Chlorella pyrenoidosa . The conversion of light into electrochemical energy via photoelectrochemical reactions of organic dyes in an electrochemical cell is demonstrated, and the postulated analogous electrochemical mechanism for photosynthesis is discussed.